


Team JSMN, The Token Diversity Team

by QuietFangirl



Series: Team JSMN [2]
Category: RWBY
Genre: All The Original Characters - Freeform, Fantastic Racism, I counted at least four original teams, Other Additional Tags to Be Added
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-13
Updated: 2018-12-01
Packaged: 2019-06-10 00:07:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,782
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15279225
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/QuietFangirl/pseuds/QuietFangirl
Summary: Led by Jade Fidi, team Jasmine, an all Faunus team, is ready to make waves in Beacon's status quo. Unfortunately, there are too many obstacles in the way, namely other students, bad pasts, old grudges, identity issues, and their own tendency to get distracted and get off track.





	1. Making Teams

**Author's Note:**

> I don't own RWBY, that honor goes to Rooster Teeth. However, I did make Team JSMN, as well as a few more that will be met in later chapters. I wrote most of this in school to procrastinate working on my actual work, so criticism, comments, and kudos are very helpful!

Maddie glanced around the room. The hall was packed with people, and she backed herself up into a corner. She wrapped her four extra arms around her even tighter, the action hidden under her massive hoodie. With her pair of exposed arms she pulled her scroll out of her hoodie pocket. She tapped at it nervously, dodging anyone’s attention.

“Hey!”

She shrieked and looked up. A woman with short brown hair and a streak of red leaned over her, pushing sunglasses up the bridge of her nose. A black and brown handbag dangled from a crook in her arm.

“Chill. You looked lonely over here,” she explained, leaning against the wall. She pulled out her scroll too and continued to ignore her.

Maddie quaked, almost digging her nails through her skin. Her bright red hair fell to the small of her back, and she tucked it into her hoodie and started using her hidden arms to braid it. She did not even look up from her scroll while doing so.

Unbeknownst to the anxious spider faunus, Coco was not, in fact, paying a single ounce of attention to her scroll. She was staring at her out from the side of her sunglasses, noticing the odd movements behind her back. She chose not to bring it up.

The headmaster, Professor Ozpin, strolled through followed by a stern looking lady with blonde hair tied back into a bun.

“All new students please follow me to the cliff.” The lady punctuated her statement with a slap from her riding crop, and Maddie flinched.

She stood carefully and lost herself in the crowd. She was almost done braiding her hair, anyway. She drew her hair out of her hood and ran a hand along the smooth, flawless braid. She flipped it behind her and felt it smack softly on her back.

They reached a cliff that dropped off suddenly into a sprawling forest. She made her way to a metal platform. The headmaster rattled off the instructions, but her blood was pounding too loudly in her ears for her to notice. A girl next to her gave her a sympathetic smile before rocketing into the air.

Her bottle green eyes widened in shock. She braced herself quickly, grasp tightening around the swords she hid in her hoodie. The ground was suddenly no longer beneath her as she was flung unceremoniously into the sky. She pulled her legs in closer to keep a proper form and moved her arms in front of her head. She glided smoothly through the air up until the treetops started to approach her. She held her palms out flat in front of her and white spider web-like ropes shot out and stuck themselves to branches.

The webs shortened and she swung forward. The webs vanished and she slung more at an approaching branch. She propelled herself like this until she barrelled into the girl from before.

“Oh my gosh I'm so so sorry!” she said in a frantic rush. She tripped backward and her hoodie tore. A third arm was exposed, and she yelped, stumbling even more.

A gloved hand flew out and grabbed one of her wrists. “Ea _s_ y!” The “s” was slurred very slightly. “More damage would be pretty bad, huh?”

She stared incredulously and slowly took in the black skirt trailing on the ground, completely obscuring anything beneath her waist. A dark green tank top clung to her figure, and brownish-black hair frizzed back into a ponytail. Her eyes were yellow and her pupils were slitted, and her skin was a soft brown.

“You okay? Did you hit your head or _s_ omething?” the girl asked. “My name’ _s_ Jade.”

“Um, Maddie.” She got to her feet. “Sorry, I’m usually not that clumsy.”

“It’ _s_ okay,” Jade reassured. “Tru _s_ t me, I’m u _s_ ed to that _s_ ort of thing. It’ _s_ what the _s_ kirt i _s_ for.” She lifted the front of her skirt just high enough to reveal  her ankles-

-Or where her ankles should be. A sleek green snake tail was in their place. The gemstone-like scales were scuffed, but still gleamed beneath the dust caused by dirt. The dark green scales, the same shade as her tank top, were striped with a slightly lighter green, almost blue.

Maddie softly smiled and used her lower arms to pull her hoodie up and over her head. Underneath was a tee-shirt depicting a rose with petals falling past the stem. It had four extra arm holes to accommodate her excessive appendages. She tied her hoodie around her waist and unsheathed all three swords.

Jade hissed in appreciation, a forked tongue flicking out of her mouth. A much louder hissing noise came from behind her, and she turned around suddenly. A very loud tearing sound signalled her skirt ripping apart.

Maddie was already leaping over her new partner, expertly aiming her three double-handed greatswords at the black King Taijitu’s head. Its mouth snapped shut around her. She stabbed two of her blades through the top and bottom of its mouth and swung around, slashing down at its neck.

Meanwhile the white King Taijitu reared its head and bit at Jade. She slithered out of the way and pulled an axe out of a sheath on her back. She squared up her stance as best she could and slammed her tail on the ground, propelling her forward and over the Grimm. She cut viciously at its scaly hide. Her tail lashed tightly around it and she sliced into the top of its head.

Simultaneously, both King Taijitu evaporated. The two faunus girls looked at each other; one with six arms and the other with a snake tail and the remains of a shredded skirt.

Jade hissed a faltering laugh. “Well, we’re a me _ss_ , aren’t we?”

Maddie let out a hysterical laugh. “We kinda are, huh?”

They walked further into the forest side by side. It did not take long to find the remains of a temple. There were chess pieces sitting on pedestals, and Jade perused the pieces.

“Which one?” she asked.

Maddie hurried over and glanced over the pieces. “Um,” she stalled, trying her best to remember the names of the pieces from when she was little, “How about this one?” She held up one of the only pieces she remembered. It was the easiest one for her to understand back then, and there were lots of ones like it on the board. It was relatively small, with a short base and a rounded top.

“A pawn?” Maddie winced. That’s why there were lots of them, she reflected. Because they were useless and died fast. “Okay,” Jade continued, not noticing her partner’s impending doom. “Put it in your pocket and let’ _s_ -”

Maddie shrieked as a barrage of feathers larger than she was rained down around her. Jade wrapped her tail around her ankle and yanked her to her side, partially out of harm’s way. Maddie slid the pawn into her pocket and readied her greatswords.

“Thanks, it took me by surprise.” She sheathed one sword and used her newly freed hands to drag Jade behind a pedestal. “Any ideas?”

She curled her tail up underneath. “Give me a minute to think.”

Feathers speared down and lodged into the pedestal. “Okay, I’ll give you a minute.”

She sheathed her second greatsword and hopped over the pedestal. She held her greatsword in her bottom pair of arms, making a mad dash to the Nevermore circling above. Maddie jumped off a nearby feather, rebounded off a second, and slung a web up at the Grimm. It attached on a talon and pulled her upward.

Maddie stabbed her greatsword in its feathered neck. The bird bucked violently and she slipped off its back. Her web snapped from the force of gravity. She braced for impact-

-Which never hit. A young lady had leapt through the air and valiantly caught her.

“I can see you’re falling over yourself to meet me,” she flirted. Maddie turned bright red, and the girl laughed.

They landed on the ground in a heap. Around them feathers whistled. The mystery girl fanned out a magnificent peacock tail that glittered with blue Dust. The feathers hit the materializing ice shield and fell harmlessly on their sides.

Jade propelled herself over to their side. “Okay, I think I got it. Fir _s_ t, we need to lure this over _s_ i _z_ ed bird out of the artifact area.”

A girl with sandy-blonde hair ran over with a matching scorpion tail flying out behind her. She slipped a chess piece into her pocket and held a pistol in her other hand. “Nicky, are you okay?”

The girl stood up and brushed herself off. “Yeah, but these ice crystals will take forever to get out.”

Jade cleared her throat authoritatively. “My name i _s_ Jade and thi _s_ i _s_ my partner Maddie.”

“Sandra,” introduced the scorpion girl. “And this is Nicole, my partner.”

Sandra’s hair reached down to her shoulders, and her complexion was the natural tan people got from spending time naturally in the sun. She wore faded light blue shorts and a pale yellow crop top. Her outfit was completed by a pair of white converse and a holster on her hip.

Nicole showed much less skin. Her shirt was a metallic gray and long-sleeved, and looked a bit like armor. Her skirt was cut just above the knees and was a metallic mix of green and blue, and her shoes were silver greco-roman sandals that had straps up to her knees and stiletto heels. Her peacock tail, now with ice clumps, was brushing the ground.

“Let’s get this thing outta here,” Nicole said. With a clicking noise, a bow appeared in her hands.

A bolt of gray light shot from her bow and lodged into the Nevermore’s wing. It screeched and dove at her as she ran for a ravine.

Sandra’s gun barked. The bullet shells clattered on the ground as she tried to divert the Grimm’s attention. It turned to her and swooped over. She tripped. The world whipped around her as she plummeted down into the ravine. The Nevermore was hot on her scorpion tail and she squeezed her eyes shut as the beak appeared around her.

Maddie leapt down to the Grimm’s back and straddled its neck. With one free hand she used a web to yank Sandra out of the way. She unsheathed all three swords and stabbed into its bone beak. It shrieked and twisted, bucking her off.

One sword clattered to the ground far below as she slung a web to a nearby wall and caught Sandra again. She slammed into the wall with a gasp and sheathed a greatsword. She pulled the scorpion faunus to her back and scuttled up the wall frantically as the Nevermore talons reached for her.

In a gleam of blinding scales Jade launched herself onto the oversized bird’s back and lashed her tail around its neck. She slammed her battleaxe into the skull, shooting bullets out of the spike end.

Nicole slid down and flipped in midair, fanning out her tail. A veil of fire coming from her tail blinded the Grimm as Jade pulled her tail taught.

It roared and tried to buck the two girls off. Nicole flew off, but Jade didn’t budge.

Maddie extended a hand and a web plucked Nicole out of the sky. She sheathed her final greatsword and held onto the wall with two hands. She held the two girls in one arm each.

“Jade!” she called out. “Bring it closer!”

Sandra and Nicole shared a glance and readied their weapons. Nicole switched her bow into a double bladed staff. Sandra’s pistol morphed into a spear and both girls pointed their weapons fiercely at the approaching bird.

When the bird got within hitting range, all four struck at once. Maddie unsheathed both her greatswords and held one in each free hand. She slashed at it in an impossibly strong dual-wield as she kicked at it.

As soon as her booted foot connected, the skull fractured and cracked. It dissolved into ash, and Jade fell.

Maddie tried to catch her with a web, but missed and dropped a second greatsword. Her eyes were wide with fear and she scuttled up the wall, carrying the other two.

After they reached solid ground, Nicole whipped around and locked eyes with Maddie in an intense gaze. “Get her!” she commanded, and Maddie turned on her heel and leapt into the valley.

A scorpion tail loosely wrapped her leg. “You overdid it,” Sandra whispered.

Nicole’s head drooped. She twined a hand in hers. “I know.”

* * *

 

Maddie plummeted. The world snapped back into focus like an overextended rubber band.

She remembered the advice her father had taught her. It isn’t the fall that kills you. It’s the sudden stop. Your organs can’t handle going from high speeds to motionless.

She wove a net a few feet above the bottom of the pit. That way, when she landed, she would not become a blood splatter. Or, more realistically, she would still have aura left.

The web cushioned her fall, and when she had finally stopped bouncing the web dissolved into nothingness. She stood up and immediately spotted her swords lying in the dirt. She sheathed them and looked around for her partner.

A familiar green snake tail was draped over several rocks and boulders. She followed it to its source until she reached her teammate’s unconscious body.

“Jade!” She examined her crumpled form and, after finding no external injuries, pulled her tightly against her left side with three arms. She jumped, clinging to the wall, and started to climb.

There was a buzzing noise behind her. She turned her head and locked eyes with a Lancer.

Maddie was spurred into motion. She shot a web up into the air. When she pulled, it became taught rather than letting her fall.

In a display worthy of approval from the meanest American gym teacher, she wrapped a foot around the makeshift rope and began to ascend. One of her arms had to contort in order for her to climb, but she managed. When she reached the rim of the ravine, she tossed Jade up.

She twirled around, unsheathing the greatsword strapped across her back. Her feet were the only things keeping her on the web as she grasped the handle with all six arms.

The Lancer never stood a chance. With her above-average strength, she cleft it in twain.

She released two of her hands’ grip on the sword and grabbed the web again, pulling herself back to solid ground.

* * *

A few minutes in the past, Sandra and Nicole waited uneasily at the top of the ravine.

“I killed her,” Nicole lamented, pacing. “It’s my fault, I sent her into the ravine. No one can survive a fall like that!”

“If anyone can live after falling, it’s a spider,” Sandra reassured. “She’s got some pretty good skills, too. She probably caught herself or something.”

“It’s the probably that worries me,” she admitted. Her peacock tail was flat against the ground. “It isn’t a guarantee.”

Sandra was launched into the air. Frantically she searched for what caused it, and her gaze fell upon an Ursa Minor. Nicole, still on the ground, fanned out her tail and sent a bolt of lightning into the Grimm’s face.

She turned, bladed staff in her hands. She stabbed it in the throat, but the attack glanced off a plate of bone.

Sandra fell. She landed on her feet atop the Ursa’s back. Her scorpion stinger had buried itself in the Grimm. It reared back, and she slammed into the ground before being shot back up mercilessly.

Nicole jumped forward and tried to scissor its head off, but wound up flipping out of the way of its incoming claw. She fanned her tail out again, and it was drowned in flames.

It screamed and dissolved into ash. Sandra massaged her newly-freed tail. “Just a tip,” she wheezed and tried to catch her breath, “don’t try that at home.”

A gray rope shot past them and began to fall back down into the ravine. Acting quickly, Nicole spun and flared her tail. The rope froze inside a block of ice and held fast.

Soon after, an arm reached out of the pit. Sandra ran forward and helped Maddie up.

“What happened?” Sandra asked, wrapping her tail around her waist like a belt.

Maddie shrugged. “I’m not really sure.”

* * *

 

The three girls dragged their fallen teammate to the ending area. Maddie’s hoodie was back over her four extra arms, and she was carrying Jade by the arms. Nicole carried her torso, and Sandra was in charge of keeping the snake tail under a floor-length black skirt.

“Mmm…” Jade groaned, her eyelids fluttering open. Suddenly, her tail whipped around and caught Sandra in the gut. She fell to the ground, gasping desperately for breath.

“Sandra!” Nicole cried out, dropping Jade and running to her teammate’s side.

Maddie immediately released Jade and her arms tightened around her. Her nails dug into her arms, not enough to break skin but enough to keep her connected to reality. She frantically braided and unbraided her hair.

Jade shook her head, sending her frizzy hair popping out of her ponytail. She coiled her tail under her skirt. “I am _s_ o _s_ orry,” she apologized. “I didn’t mean to do that. It wa _s_ in _s_ tinct.”

Sandra stood up. “It’s cool.” The four girls recovered and walked over to the ending zone.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Get ready for way too many characters that hardly anyone will actually care about except for team CFVY!  
> Really just teens hanging out and figuring out who's who in Beacon.

“Jade Fidi, Sandra Rena, Maddie Raudona, and Nicole Litonis, you four collected the white pawn pieces. Therefore, you are team Jasmine, led by Jade Fidi.” Professor Ozpin waved them off the stage and out of the lights.

Almost instantly Maddie relaxed. The team reached their dorm room, and they claimed their beds.

Half an hour later, Maddie was still lying awake. Nicole’s breathing was quiet and slow with sleep, and Sandra was snoring loudly. Jade was curled up into a scaley ball. She spun a web between her hands and amused herself by weaving an increasingly difficult pattern. It took a long time for her to fall asleep, but at least she did go to sleep.

She was not the first one awake. That honor went to Nicole, who was carefully layering Dust into her tail. She sat up uncertainly and watched her teammate as she tried to become more awake.

“Morning,” Nicole whispered. She gingerly sprinkled green Dust into the feathers. “What are some plans for the day?”

Maddie shrugged. “We’ll need to decorate,” she whispered back. “Not to mention classes.”

The peacock girl huffed. “Who starts classes on the first day?”

“Beacon, I guess.” She stood up and pulled the school uniform out of her suitcase. “Ugh.”

“What?”

“No extra arm holes,” she explained, keeping her volume low. “I mean, I prefer hiding them, but I also would like to be comfortable, you know?”

Nicole focused on her tail again, silence falling over the room. Maddie shifted anxiously. She had said something wrong, she knew it.

“Sorry,” she blurted out.

Nicole raised an eyebrow. “Why are you apologizing? It can be kinda annoying when people do that a lot.”

She twisted her fingers around and fidgeted uneasily. “Sorry.”

She sighed. “No, you’re fine. I was being a bit of a jerk. I just really hate it when people talk bad about themselves and take responsibility for things that aren’t their fault.”

“Sorry,” she squeaked.

“It’s cool.” Nicole layered more Dust into her tail before walking out to the balcony. “Oh hey,” she called over her shoulder, raising her voice, “You might want to get into uniform.”

Maddie nodded meekly and wrestled her way into the uniform. Halfway through, she whimpered. She was stuck. Having six shoulders does not make it easy to get dressed. Especially when the clothes were made for a normal person with only two shoulders.

“Maddie, you okay in there?” someone asked. “I _s s_ omething wrong?”

She awkwardly stumbled to the door and saw, out of the corner of her eye, a jewel green snake tail. “Help.”

Jade clucked her slightly forked tongue. “Alright, ju _s_ t _s_ tay _s_ till.”

Maddie forced her arms to relax as she guided the topmost shoulders through the sleeves. There was a sighing noise from outside the white cloth prison, and the sound of fabric being cut signalled new sleeve holes being cut.

Her arms were properly put into place. She rubbed the underarm area beneath the newly cut sleeves and sighed.

“Yo, I can sew some real sleeves on there if you want,” Sandra called, shrugging a black blazer over her white shirt. “I’ll just need to scavenge some off of other uniforms. It’s no problem.”

Maddie blushed furiously as she tied the red ribbon around her neck. She pulled the blazer on over the outfit and wrapped her spare arms around her, out of sight.

“Isn’t that uncomfortable?” Nicole asked, walking back into the room.

“Very.” She shrugged and began gathering her things for school. “But it’s fine.”

“We’ve _s_ till got time,” Jade pointed out. “We _s_ hould decorate. Make our dorm more per _s_ onal.”

Nicole set up a vanity and arranged various vials of Dust on it, each one clearly labelled. She dumped a pile of unusual machinery next to it and began to organize it. There were funnels, tubes, beakers, and some things Maddie could not recognize. Nicole leaned her bow against her bed.

Jade carefully adjusted a heat lamp that she had plugged in, sending its light rays over her bed. She attached posters on the wall and pulled out a terrarium and set it down on top of the bookcase that Maddie had assembled. A tiny corn snake poked its head out of a mass of leaves. It flicked its tongue out cutely and curled up into an adorable ball. To top it all off, it wore a tiny top hat.

Sandra hefted a sewing machine and set it up on a desk. She arranged threads, fabric scissors, and fabric scraps in the desk. She leaned rolls of fabric against the wall next to it and draped her projects in progress next to the sewing machine.

Maddie set up a neat little bookshelf and arranged an armful of books. There was a vase on her night stand with roses, slightly wilting. A picture frame was placed next to it. There was her, smiling nervously at the camera, two arms folded in front of her, one on her hip, a fourth waving sheepishly at the camera, another just straight down, and a last one around the shoulders of a much more confident girl about her age. She only had two arms, and one was across Maddie’s shoulders. The other waved at the camera. Her red hair fell to the nape of her neck, and she had eight glittering green eyes over her beaming smile, eyeliner in a cat-eye around all of them. Maddie tore her gaze off the picture and wiped away the budding tears with the back of her hand.

All four girls moved to the doorway and surveyed the scene.

“Not too bad,” Jade noted. “A little bit cramped, but I think we can manage.”

“Hey,” Sandra began, “Who’s in this picture with you, Maddie?”

Her arms locked tighter against her body. “Um,” she stalled. “We should probably get to class. It starts in ten minutes.”

She opened her mouth to push the topic further, but Nicole laid a hand on her arm. “We’ve got Professor Port first in room, uh…”

“Two oh _s_ i _x_ ,” Jade helped. “Let’ _s_ get going then.”

They all scooped up their books and weapons. They rushed to the classroom, trying to get seats all together.

Behind them was a team of four. One was positively gigantic and had a sword almost as large as he was strapped across his back. A fox tail brushed Maddie on the back of her head, and she turned. A boy with orange-red hair quickly pulled his tail back, and she noticed his darker complexion and solid milky-white eyes.

“Sorry,” he whispered. His tail dropped down next to his feet.

On his left was a familiar looking lady, and Maddie gasped. The woman from before was no less imposing in the school uniform, and she lowered her sunglasses and winked. Next to her was a faunus girl with long rabbit ears that matched her straight brown hair reaching past her shoulders.

Professor Port cleared his throat, and Maddie blushed. She turned back to face the front. He gave off a sort of Santa Claws vibe, with his bowl-like stomach, gray hair, and expansive gray mustache.

“Welcome to Grimm Studies!” His voice was deep and gruff, but twinkled with mild humor. “I, Professor Port, will train you aspiring Huntsmen, and Huntresses,” he winked in Maddie’s direction, and her nails dug into her arms. The fashionable lady behind her made a noise of disgust. “In the ways of Grimm, or as I call them, prey.” He laughed at his own joke, which was met with silence. His laugh fizzled out awkwardly, and he coughed.

“Moving on!” He strode to the front of the classroom and paced. “Now, when I was a lad, these fancy Hunter schools were much more expensive, and we had to make do with whatever weapons we had! I once took down an Ursa twice my size with only a stapler!”

He droned on, recounting his tale. A handful of other students had fallen asleep, including Jade. It was only forty-five minutes before the bell rang, but it dragged on so long that it seemed like hours.

“And remember,” Port finished, “stay vigilant!”

The class rushed out as quickly as they could.

“Hey,” the lady from behind her called. She flinched and her nails threatened to break past her skin. “I’m Coco Adel, leader of team Coffee. Didn’t I meet you on the airship?”

Dumbstruck, she just nodded.

Thankfully, Coco did not seem to mind. “I hope you got a team you like.” Her amber eyes widened behind her sunglasses. “Oh yeah, these are my teammates. Fox Alistair,” the red-haired boy raised a hand, “Velvet Scarlatina,” the rabbit girl waved uncertainly, “and Yatsuhashi Daichi.” The wall of a guy nodded solemnly. “Where you headed next, mystery girl?”

A protective hand rested on Maddie’s shoulder. “Are the _s_ e people bothering you?” Jade asked, drawing herself up to match Yatsuhashi’s height.

“Uh, um, no,” she stammered, slightly releasing her arms. “No. And my name is Maddie.” She smiled hopefully at Coco, who smiled back.

“Ye _s_ , Maddie i _s_ a very valued member of team Ja _s_ mine,” Jade encouraged. “I am Jade Fidi, leader of team Ja _s_ mine. The _s_ corpion faunu _s_ i _s S_ andra Rena, I _s_ ee you know Maddie Raudona, and the peacock girl i _s_ Nicole Litoni _s_.”

“Yo!” Sandra walked over confidently and looked team CFVY up and down. “Not bad,” she mused. “I’m Sandra.”

“Coco.” They shook hands, each one sizing up the other.

Nicole cleared her throat gently. “As great as it is to meet you, Professor Peach starts her lesson in two minutes and I don’t think any of us want to be late.”

The classes passed in a dull, boring blur until combat practice. Professor Peach was a sweet, caring woman with a pair of deer antlers and who wore long white pants with transparent pink cuffs matched with a loose-fitting peach colored blouse. There was also Professor Oobleck, who moved and spoke too quickly for any of them to take in information. His hair was spiky and green, his outfit was just a pair of black pants, an untucked white shirt, a yellow tie left flapping in his wake, and round glasses with such thick frames that it was almost impossible to see his eyes.

For combat practice, they were given the option to wear their normal clothes. It was an option everyone in their newfound clique took. The room they trained in was very similar to a gymnasium; bleachers filled most of the room except for the platform they fought on and the screens to display aura levels and opponents. Alright, so it was not that similar to a gymnasium.

Glynda Goodwitch was waiting on the stage. After she covered the rules, which were very strict, everyone claimed their seats.

“For the first match I would like to see Miss Fidi and Miss Adel,” she announced. The ladies shared a glance and maneuvered the aisles so they could stand onstage. “Now, please keep an eye on each of your auras and make your combat decisions based on that. We will analyze what you could do better during combat and give feedback on your fighting style. I will stop the match when your auras are too low, and whoever has the higher aura is the winner.” She stepped out of the way. “Begin.”

Coco’s handbag shifted into an impressive rotary cannon, and Jade unsheathed a battleaxe. She charged, not giving her opponent time to load the gun. She swung her axe down, but was blocked by the gun. Coco smirked as she fired her weapon.

Jade flew back. She wedged her tail in the ground and spun her axe. Freeze pelted her sunglasses uselessly. It was not long before her aura was nearly depleted.

Professor Goodwitch led the class in a discussion about what Jade could have done to get past her defenses. Maddie zoned out for most of it until she heard her name.

“Miss Raudona and Mister Daichi,” Goodwitch called.

She hesitantly walked over. Yatsuhashi offered a hand to help her onstage, and she took it. He had a menacing orange sword almost as large as she was sheathed over his back. His clothes were a light green tunic over brown pants and a black tank top. He had a five-layer sode strapped on his left arm and matching bracers on his wrists.

“You may get hurt,” he cautioned.

She tied her hoodie around her waist and unsheathed Aranea, Arachni, and Makadee, her three greatswords. The shriek of weapons did her trash-talking for her.

“You may begin.”

Yatsuhashi drew a foot back and unsheathed the massive rust-colored blade. He held it confidently in front of him, smirking slightly.

Maddie stared him up and down, sizing him up. A corner of her mouth quirked up and she sprang forward. She held Aranea, her leftmost sword, across her in a defensive position. Arachni, her rightmost sword, slid Yatsuhashi’s massive sword out of the way as she thrust Makadee, her central sword, into his chest.

He stepped back and swung his sword at the side of her head. She flipped backwards and danced around him, keeping her swords up and waiting for an opening. The hooked sword tip sliced upwards and ripped Aranea from her grip. It clattered to the ground. Her eyes glanced down.

In that instant the sword swung down on her head. She cartwheeled out of the way, moving farther away from the fallen blade. She feinted an attack to his right and stepped closer, bringing Makadee to the side of his head.

He dodged and reversed his grip, swinging the sword up in an arc. She flipped into a handstand and slashed his legs in a one-handed swing. She heard some appreciative cheers from the crowd. She flipped back to her feet. Before she could regain her footing, the reddish sword swung at her again. She yelped in a very undignified fashion and used webs to pull her out of the way. Using herself as a pendulum, she brought her feet into his face.

She sliced downward and flipped back to the ground. Yatsuhashi staggered back and adjusted his grip on the sword into a more protected position.

Out of nowhere, the massive sword cut deep into Maddie’s aura, sending her flying back. She jammed her swords into the floor, and she ground to a halt. She reclaimed Aranea and used the stuck swords as a leverage point. She shot a pair of webs on Yatsuhashi’s shoulders and, using swords as a counterweight, dragged him to her. Aranea stabbed almost entirely through his aura.

“Miss Raudona is the victor,” Professor Goodwitch called. “Now, her strategy was… unique, but successful. Can anyone explain where Mister Daichi can improve?” Someone raised their hand. “Yes, Mister Argent?”

“He sacrificed speed for power,” the kid suggested. “Helpful in a team setting, but not a one-on-one fight.”

“Exactly,” she praised. “While both are important, strength is nothing if you are unable to hit your opponent. Miss Raudona is an excellent example of both. However, spider webs are not the most reliable strategy in an enclosed space.”

“Mister Argent,” she continued. “You and Miss Litonis are up next."

Argent was a whip-thin human guy in a loose-fitting gray gi tied around his waist with a blue belt. He was notably barefoot.

“Simon Argent,” he introduced, holding a hand out to shake.

“Nicole Litonis,” she replied. “It’ll be a pleasure beating you.”

He laughed jovially, as if this was a plain conversation. “The pleasure will be all mine.”

She raised an accusatory eyebrow and shrugged. “If that’s what gets you off, kid.”

He spluttered and furiously defended himself. “I will not be kinkshamed in my own house!”

“He’s just encouraging her,” Sandra whispered to Maddie from the stands. “She’s not gonna stop anytime soon.”

“Students!” Professor Goodwitch bellowed as the crowd progressively became louder. “There will be order in my classroom! Both of you,” she shot a vicious glare to the ones onstage, “begin your match.”

Simon stepped back and dropped into a fighting position. Nicole switched her longbow into her bladed staff. Both circled each other, waiting for the other to make the first move. It was Nicole who lost patience first. She spun her staff and brought a bladed end into his stomach.

He dropped to the ground and swept her legs out from under her. She fell flat on her back but rolled over, flaring her tail open. A sheet of ice protected her from his follow-up strike, which gave her just enough time to get to her feet. She sliced at his stomach, but the blade was redirected by his arm. His free hand jabbed into her stomach, and she was forced backwards. She spun the staff and brought it down on his head. When he moved both hands up to block, she instead spun it and stabbed his chest. He winced and grabbed her staff.

She turned, swinging the staff in an arc. He was carried along until he was forced to let go. He sprawled out on his back, but rolled to his feet before her follow-up strike hit him. He rushed to the other side of her and slammed her with a roundhouse kick.

She stumbled and turned, flaring her tail. A wave of fire blinded Simon. She used the distraction to slash him from shoulder to hip. As she was gearing up for another attack, something jabbed her hard in the back, right between the shoulder blades. She stumbled. Another roundhouse kick caught her in the stomach, sending her crashing to Professor Goodwitch’s feet.

“Simon Argent is the winner.”

“What?” Nicole sprang to her feet and whirled to meet Goodwitch’s eye. “No way! My aura’s still-”

“In the yellow, yes,” she finished, shooting Nicole a glare. The girl stepped back sheepishly. “However, you were knocked out of stadium borders. While it is true that this wouldn’t matter in a fight against Grimm, in a tournament match it does matter.”

“Now, who can tell us what gave Mister Argent the advantage?” she continued, staring out at the crowd. A girl with model proportions raised her hand from the back corner. “Yes, Miss Tanner?”

“He was against an animal.” She and her teammates laughed mockingly.

“If anything,” Simon’s voice cut over the rude laughter, “her faunus heritage gave her an advantage. Using her tail in such a way was very inventive, clever, and unexpected.”

The lady’s face visibly fell and she sneered. “Whatever, weirdo.”

A hand raised in the center of the front row. “His Semblance gave him the advantage,” the girl explained uncertainly. “As was shown near the end of the match, his ability to duplicate himself gave him the upper hand.”

“Yes, Miss Lustre.” Goodwitch glared at the students in the back. “It-”

“It allowed him to attack unexpectedly from a position that she left unguarded,” Lustre continued, interrupting the teacher. “Because of her single staff weapon and the shock, she was unable to defend on two opposite fronts.”

“Yes, thank you Miss Lustre.” The class snickered, and she glared again. They quickly fell silent. “You and Miss Tanner are up next.”

The girl walked onstage nervously, a light purple umbrella over one shoulder. The screen behind her began to display her name, Lilac Lustre, and her aura. She gently twirled the umbrella and adjusted the transparent purple raincoat she wore over her mauve blouse. Her navy blue skirt fell to about knee height, and she had cream stockings embroidered with lilac flowers.

Miss Tanner was almost the exact opposite. Where Lilac was modest, she showed skin. Where she was neat and organized, she was a mess. The name on the screen read “Brandi Tanner” and showed her aura. Her brown shorts did little to cover her tanned skin, and her reddish brown crop top hung off one shoulder. Her hair was a rumpled mess, and she had jewelry dripping off her arms, ankles, neck, wrists, fingers, and ears.

“Begin.”

Brandi did not hesitate. She sprang forward, bracelets expanding into claw-like knives over her already sharp nails. Lilac frantically swung her umbrella in the way, the claws harmlessly bouncing off the combination of her aura and the metal under the plastic shell. She hooked her talons around the umbrella and pulled.

Lilac snapped the umbrella closed, revealing a concealed gun. It fired into her chest, and she staggered back. She opened it again and slashed into her aura, keeping her stance defensive. Her opponent scowled and kicked her, a stiletto blade emerging from her stiletto high heels. She stepped back, out of range of Brandi’s wild fighting style. Her umbrella shut again and a ray of Dust flew by Brandi’s head, inches away from her heavily pierced ear.

Her hand flew up to it. A lock of greasy singed hair came away in her hand, and her eyes narrowed. “The fu-”

“Language,” Goodwitch interrupted.

Brandi glared at the teacher. The momentary interruption gave Lilac the opportunity to leap forward and strike. She used her closed umbrella as a sword, pulling off textbook maneuvers flawlessly. It was an unusual contrast to the party girl’s loose and desperate fighting style. Brandi growled and stepped back, dropping a red Dust crystal into a glass bottle.

The impact of the explosion was lessened by Lilac using the umbrella as a shield, but glass shards bit at her aura. She twirled the umbrella and slashed. Brandi fell back.

“Enough!” Lilac glanced up and rested her umbrella over one shoulder. Brandi pulled herself off the ground and glared at the sweet girl opposite her. “Miss Lustre won. Now, where can Miss Tanner improve?”

Jade raised her hand. Professor Goodwitch nodded. “Her defen _s_ e i _s s_ everely lacking.”

“Correct. How can she correct this?”

“Well maybe if she didn’t drink so much she’d fight better,” Fox whispered to Coco. She muffled a laugh.

“Mister Alistair, you have advice?” Goodwitch prodded.

“I said maybe if she didn’t drink so much she’d fight better,” he repeated, louder this time.

Brandi’s face darkened. “You wanna start something, mutt?”

A few people laughed at her comment. A wave of unease washed over the handful of faunus in the audience. Yatsuhashi whispered into his ear, and he nodded.

“I would if Lustre didn’t already do a good job of that,” he called back. An “ooo” filled the room at the blatant trash talking.

Brandi opened her mouth to retort, but was cut off by Professor Goodwitch. “Quiet!” she barked. “Class is dismissed!”

Everyone flooded out, and Maddie was pushed around until she was caught by a lady in a floor-length blue dress. She pulled her aside, out of the stampede.

“Impressive fighting,” she commented. “You are a teammate of Litonis, yes?”

Maddie nodded, anxiety whipping the words out of her mouth.

“Hey Mads, you coming?” a voice called. She flinched. Her team walked over. Sandra was the one who had spoken.

“We just wanted to congratulate her on her win,” Simon explained, laying a hand on the woman’s shoulder. “I know I couldn’t face up to that human wall.”

The woman gently lifted his hand off her shoulder. She turned her sapphire blue gaze to the assorted faunus. “My apologies. We have not introduced ourselves. I am Zaffre Jazlyn. You have already met Simon Argent. Our leader is Briar Byzantine, and our final teammate is Rajah Harima.”

A girl with a tangled mane of brown hair walked over, leading a person with short blond hair. “Hey! ‘M Briar! It’s great to meet y’all!” A cowboy hat contained the explosion of hair, and her shirt was purple flannel. Bootcut jeans fell over a pair of solid brown cowboy boots. Her accent immediately exposed the fact that she was from Mistral slums.

Rajah waved nervously.

“I would also like to congratulate Lustre on her win,” Zaffre stated, scanning the crowd with her piercing gaze. It did not take long for her to spot the nervous girl. “Lustre!”

Lilac turned, her teammates following. “Yes?”

“Ya did a great job in kickin’ that racist where it’d hurt!” Briar exclaimed. She draped an arm over the much smaller girl’s shoulders. “But I’ll tell ya a little tip: next time call her out for havin’ a Molotov Cocktail on her.”

“Can you take your arm off our oh-so-fearless leader?” a girl in light blue asked.

“Oh!” She pulled her arm back. “Sorry ‘bout that. My name’s Briar, and I’m head of team Brass, spelled B, R, S, Z. Who might y’all be?”

Behind them Goodwitch cleared her throat. “As much as I support cooperation between teams, class is over. I suggest continuing this in the courtyard.”

The crowd of students hurried off and regrouped in the picturesque courtyard. They formed a rough circle on the grass.

“I’ll _s_ tart,” Jade offered. “My team i _s_ Ja _s_ mine, _s_ pelled J, _S_ , M, N. I am Jade Fidi, the leader. The _s_ e are my teammate _s S_ andra Rena, Maddie Raudona, and Nicole Litoni _s_.” They waved when their names were called.

“As I was sayin’, I’m Briar Byzantine, head of team Brass, spelled B, R, S, Z, and these are my teammates Rajah Harima, Simon Argent, and Zaffre Jazlyn.” Everyone but Zaffre waved when their names were said. Instead she bowed her head slightly.

“Lilac Lustre, leader of team Lavender, or L, V, D, R.” Lilac shifted nervously before continuing. “This is Veronica,” a girl in a bright purple sundress waved, “Durian-”

“Just call me Ryan,” he cut off. His shirt was a loose brown, and his hair was a lighter shade, falling to his shoulders.

“Right, sorry.” She stared at her Mary Jane shoes and shifted nervously again.

“So I just don’t exist, then?” the girl in blue asked, sarcasm dripping off every word. “Cool. I’m Robin.” Lilac flinched, and Robin’s steely expression softened slightly. She pulled the timid girl into a hug, which was slowly returned.

“So all y’all’re faunus?” Briar asked, turning her attention to team Jasmine. Maddie noticed with a shiver the pair of shotguns strapped to her hips. “That’s mighty interestin’! I ain’t never met a faunus before, let alone four!”

Nicole looked up from her tail, which she had been painstakingly grooming. “That’s racist,” she commented.

“Whaddaya mean?”

She sighed and continued messing with her tail. “Well, you’re saying that we’re any different from you. And it makes us sound like we’re rare.”

“I do not mean to cause offense,” Zaffre began, “but in a way, you are rare. Very few faunus go to a Hunter academy, though that may be because of the constant persecution they face. You are a statistical rarity.”

Briar’s head jerked up, not having listened to anything after Nicole’s addition. “Hey wait! I do know faunus! Or at least, I know of ‘em. Them White Fang terrorists are all faunus, yeah?”

“Um,” Maddie began, but was promptly cut off.

“They are an insult to faunus!” Sandra exclaimed, jumping to her feet. “They don’t care who they hurt! Real faunus would never take up arms!”

Jade’s tail softly wrapped around Maddie’s ankle. It was not done in a threatening way, but rather, a reassuring gesture.

Sup nerds,” Coco called, elegantly claiming a grassy spot and forcing a hole in the circle. Yatsuhashi sat under a tree nearby, Fox dropped down next to her, and Velvet was nowhere in sight. “We’re headed into Vale in a minute, and we thought we’d let you guys come with.”

“Nah,” Briar answered. “We got decoratin’ to do.”

“We decorated la _s_ t night,” Jade added. “I believe my team and I would love to join you."

The attention shifted to Lilac, who quailed at the attention. Veronica cleared her throat gently and moved her hands around each other and in front of her body, speaking fluent sign language.

“She says that she’d like to come,” Ryan translated. “Personally, I think it would be good for our entire team to go. Thoughts?”

“Yeah,” Robin answered. “Lemme get changed into something less combat and more party.”

Behind her sunglasses, Coco’s eyes sparked. Fox nudged her in the side. “Coco’s a bit of a fashionista,” he explained. “It probably kills her to be on a team with Velvet, who is too scared to show any skin, Yatsuhashi, who thinks his robes and armor are good to wear on a daily basis, and me.”

The teams walked together to their dorms, and Maddie intentionally lagged behind to fall in step next to Fox.

“Why didn’t you describe yourself?” she asked.

He smiled and turned toward her. “Because I’m blind.”

She squeaked and blushed. “I’m sorry I didn’t know,” she apologized.

He laughed. “It’s fine. I was born blind. Learned how to use my aura to visualize my surroundings. But fashion? No way was I wasting my aura on that.”

She nodded, realized he couldn’t see her, and hummed in agreement. She ran ahead back to her team and examined her small assortment of clothes.

“ _S_ o, ladie _s_ ,” Jade started, “Are we dre _ss_ ed to hide our trait _s_ or not?”

Maddie picked at her cuticles as she thought, flipping through tee shirt after tee shirt.

“I don’t know about you guys, but I’m ready to strut,” Nicole answered, holding a short metallic gray dress in front of her. “How would this one work?”

“We’re going to the city, not clubbing,” Sandra reminded. “Try the top.”

She held a gray shirt and nodded. She locked herself in the bathroom with a pile of fabric in her arms, the gray shirt on top.

Sandra turned back to her corner of the closet and pulled out a pale yellow dress that was covered in lace and had no sleeves. A hole was cut for her tail, just large enough to fit it but small enough that she was not at risk of flashing anyone. She paired it with strappy brown sandals.

Jade selected a black skater dress with a zipper front. “Dre _ss_ to impre _ss_ it i _s_.”

Maddie stared at her few options. At least Nicole will be dressed modestly, she reassured herself.

The door to the bathroom swung open. The gray top was a crop top rather than a full-length tee. It was held up by a silver ring of fabric around her neck, but her shoulders were completely bare. A skirt with metallic cool colors was secured on her hips and reached down to mid-thigh. Her peacock tail rested safely above the waistline. She held a peacock feather fan in one hand.

Maddie’s jaw dropped.

Coco strode through the doorway and struck a pose. She had traded her long cocoa blouse and dark brown pants for a cocoa-colored dress that looked as if it was made from a single piece of fabric twisted to form a neckline and a waist. She still had her signature heeled boots, bullet belts, beret, sunglasses, and handbag.

“Nothing to wear?” she asked Maddie. She shook her head. “No prob. I probably have something that’ll fit you.”

She followed the confident fashionista out of their dorm room and into team Coffee’s. Mannequins were everywhere, some with completed outfits and some with just patterns. A sewing machine was pressed up in the corner. She noticed possessions that were obviously her teammates’, such as a cork board with photos pinned up.

She did not have enough time to examine the room much more, as Coco spun a dress form around. It was a bright, vivid red, about the same shade as her hair. The hem brushed the floor, but the neckline plummeted. Her mouth dropped open.

“Yeah, the neck might be a bit low,” Coco admitted, “but the red suits you and the back and arm holes are low enough to accommodate your arms.”

She took a deep breath in, summoning her courage. “Okay,” she agreed, letting out the air in a single rush.

Coco smiled and ushered Maddie into the bathroom. The counter was a mess of makeup, hair products, metal polish, and other things she could not make heads nor tails of.

“Put this on,” she commanded. “I can zip you up when it’s on.”

Maddie waited until the door clicked shut and she slid her tee shirt and hoodie off. Her smooth, pale skin was interrupted by a black spider web tattoo on her midriff that stretched up to just above her hips and just below her rib cage. She fought with the fabric as she tried to slide the dress on over her head. It settled on her waist, the sleeves constantly attempting to slide down her arms to freedom. She leaned down to take her leggings off, hiking up the skirts, but her dress tried another leap to freedom. She yelped and frantically tried to fix it, but a section of fabric was caught under her foot and she fell forward with a crash.

The door flung open. “You okay?” Coco asked, pulling her to her feet with unseen strength. Maddie nodded wordlessly. “Here, I’ll zip this bad boy.”

She held her breath as the dress was forced to behave, pulling tight around her hips and staying overly loose in the neckline. She used one hand to press the loose fabric to her chest.

“Hang on.” Coco rushed out of the bathroom and returned with a small container in her hand. “I’ve got some red thread here,” she muttered. Maddie gasped as a sharp needle pricked her back. “Sorry. I’ll be a bit more careful.”

After a few minutes, she could lower her hand. The entire upper half of the dress now clung to her body and accentuated the few curves she had.

“And this is where it gets weird.” She shut the door with her foot and moved to her front. “I swear I’m not sexually assaulting you.”

Her brows furrowed. “Nothing should ever start like thAT!” Her nervous voice became a much higher pitch as Coco plunged her hand down the front of her dress. She pulled her breast up in the dress so that it was no longer being trapped by tight fabric. She did the same on the other side. She adjusted their position so that they did not fall back down but they also did not pop out.

“I’ve got some heels you can pair it with,” Coco added. “And a shawl, if that’s more your style.”

She had not processed a single word. Instead, she was openly staring at her reflection. In a daze, she slowly spun, the skirt hem flaring out. “H-” She paused, and tried again. “How? I’m- I’m not pretty.”

“Uh, yeah, you are,” Coco retorted. “Are you saying you didn’t see your sexy self before?” Maddie blushed furiously. “Hey, stop that, you’re going to be mistaken for a fire if you keep it up.”

She shook her head and tore herself away from her reflection. “You mentioned a shawl?” she hinted.

“And heels.”


End file.
